Harcourt Fenton Mudd

[Succubint]

Yeah, sorry, but I found Mudd completely repugnant from the first time I saw him on TOS. He was NOT a lovable charming rogue to me when I watched his episodes, even though they tried to play it that way tonally.

From the start I found him a disgusting human trafficking pimp who also was a drug dealer who withheld to keep his 'merchandise' in line and submissive. He exploited those women for his own gain. He was fully prepared to let the Enterprise spiral and crash into that planet due to the dilithium crystal shortfall, if he didn't get his way. Then later we see he was fine with kidnapping everyone from the Enterprise onto the android planet, and fine with those androids enslaving the galaxy as long as his own gilded cage was comfy.

The man was always treacherous, cowardly and a sell out.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Mudd has always reminded me of my uncle Larry. That didn't change in this episode. (Larry was an asshole drug dealer who often had one scam or another going.)

I'm a little disturbed but also impressed that they found an actress that really did appear to be on her way to becoming Stella as we saw her in TOS, while still being a fair bit attractive.

 

[Timo]

It was pretty daring for TOS to show such an utterly rotten man and then let him live, yes.

That letting him live was then played for comedic value in the sequel is just TOS playing everything for comedic value, including billions dying.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Foolish]

What I found worst about the episode is that Mudd wants to profit by selling the spore drive to the Klingons, but he is wearing a time machine on his wrist!!! Wouldn't a time machine be worth about 10,000 times what a spore drive would be worth? And then at the end he just lets the time machine dissolve off his wrist??? That would be like throwing the world's biggest diamond into the ocean. And then the crew does not even ask him where he got it in the first place??? Come on. Science fiction asks us to suspend disbelief, which is why I don't ask about the existence of a time machine. But I science fiction should never ask us to suspend disbelief of people's behavior. People are people. This is what makes a show work.

After the writing debacle of the first two episodes, I said I'd give it one more chance. But after this writing debacle, I'm out. 50 years of Star Trek watching comes to an end.

 

[Amaris]

What I found worst about the episode is that Mudd wants to profit by selling the spore drive to the Klingons, but he is wearing a time machine on his wrist!!! Wouldn't a time machine be worth about 10,000 times what a spore drive would be worth? And then at the end he just lets the time machine dissolve off his wrist??? That would be like throwing the world's biggest diamond into the ocean. And then the crew does not even ask him where he got it in the first place??? Come on. Science fiction asks us to suspend disbelief, which is why I don't ask about the existence of a time machine. But I science fiction should never ask us to suspend disbelief of people's behavior. People are people. This is what makes a show work.

After the writing debacle of the first two episodes, I said I'd give it one more chance. But after this writing debacle, I'm out. 50 years of Star Trek watching comes to an end.

The time crystal is very limited, very rare, very expensive, and can only be used once. Once it's used, the loop is closed and the timeline restored, it essentially disintegrates. Mudd didn't let it disintegrate, that was a part of its function because the crystal was used up restoring the timeline.

 

[USS Triumphant]

The time crystal is very limited, very rare, very expensive, and can only be used once. Once it's used, the loop is closed and the timeline restored, it essentially disintegrates. Mudd didn't let it disintegrate, that was a part of its function because the crystal was used up restoring the timeline.

He does have a point, though: you could fight an entire major battle in their war, and then redo it over and over until your side wins. The thing is worth more than 100 Discoveries and Burnhams, easily.

And that aside, the time crystal disintegrating wouldn't really explain *the device he had it in* disintegrating - and only it. If part of it had gone, or all of plus a chunk of his arm, well, okay. But just the device, precisely? That's a bit convenient.

But I'm not going to use it to browbeat the series. Some episodes are really more just for fun, and so it has ever been. If @Foolish didn't give up on Trek altogether after "Spock's Brain"...

 

[Amaris]

He does have a point, though: you could fight an entire major battle in their war, and then redo it over and over until your side wins. The thing is worth more than 100 Discoveries and Burnhams, easily.

And that aside, the time crystal disintegrating wouldn't really explain *the device he had it in* disintegrating - and only it. If part of it had gone, or all of plus a chunk of his arm, well, okay. But just the device, precisely? That's a bit convenient.

But I'm not going to use it to browbeat the series. Some episodes are really more just for fun, and so it has ever been. If @Foolish didn't give up on Trek altogether after "Spock's Brain"...

One person, not a group of people, just one person who has the time crystal, and clearly there aren't enough of these things to equip entire armies, so they are powerful, but like all things, come with limits that keep them from being a god weapon.

 

[USS Triumphant]

One person, not a group of people, just one person who has the time crystal, and clearly there aren't enough of these things to equip entire armies, so they are powerful, but like all things, come with limits that keep them from being a god weapon.

Right. But if that one person is the admiral running their side of the battle... it still wouldn't overcome TOTALLY overwhelming forces, but in a more closely matched fight it could definitely decide the tide.

 

[Amaris]

Right. But if that one person is the admiral running their side of the battle... it still wouldn't overcome TOTALLY overwhelming forces, but in a more closely matched fight it could definitely decide the tide.

If you can get your troops to coordinate with your new plans fast enough, maybe. Remember, 30 minutes, and in that time no one remembers what happened before, so you're starting from scratch each time. A victory would be very localized. 30 minutes, for example, would not have changed the final results at the battle at Antietam.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

The time crystal is very limited, very rare, very expensive, and can only be used once. Once it's used, the loop is closed and the timeline restored, it essentially disintegrates. Mudd didn't let it disintegrate, that was a part of its function because the crystal was used up restoring the timeline.

Thing is, this isn't the only time he's used it. According to Tyler, he likely used it to rob a Betazoid bank too...

 

[Amaris]

Thing is, this isn't the only time he's used it. According to Tyler, he likely used it to rob a Betazoid bank too...

He's probably used one, but not this particular one. It disintegrates after it's used, and it seems he's only used one when the payoff is going to be massive, because I have no doubt these things are worth a mint on their own.

 

[Foolish]

Guys, it gets even worse. Mudd showed several times that he could get complete control of the ships computers. Why didn't he just shut off the main engines, call the Klingons and tell them "here you go. The ship is yours. You figure out how it works."

And then, what about a ships officer just giving up and turning over the most important part of the spore drive technology to the guy who is going to hand it over to the enemy? Not much of a ships officer if you ask me. Should be demoted to cadet immediately. In all other series they would have activated the self destruct before giving such an important technology to the enemy.

 

[Amaris]

Guys, it gets even worse. Mudd showed several times that he could get complete control of the ships computers. Why didn't he just shut off the main engines, call the Klingons and tell them "here you go. The ship is yours. You figure out how it works."

When could he do that? Once the time loop disappears, Mudd has to sit with a crew of 100+ people, dead in space, waiting for the Klingons. There are SO many ways that could go wrong fast.

And then, what about a ships officer just giving up and turning over the most important part of the spore drive technology to the guy who is going to hand it over to the enemy? Not much of a ships officer if you ask me. Should be demoted to cadet immediately. In all other series they would have activated the self destruct before giving such an important technology to the enemy.

That was part of the ploy to get Mudd off balance. It worked.

 

[GeekUSACarl]

Guys, it gets even worse. Mudd showed several times that he could get complete control of the ships computers. Why didn't he just shut off the main engines, call the Klingons and tell them "here you go. The ship is yours. You figure out how it works."

And then, what about a ships officer just giving up and turning over the most important part of the spore drive technology to the guy who is going to hand it over to the enemy? Not much of a ships officer if you ask me. Should be demoted to cadet immediately. In all other series they would have activated the self destruct before giving such an important technology to the enemy.

Every time he does this requires an intricate set of steps, ones he memorized by way of doing this over and over and over again, and I'd imagine we did not see every step involved.

Also, each time he had a variable, Stamets, who adjusted his behavior based on his memory. And as we saw in the episode Stamets solicited help, changing enough in each occurrence to make taking over the ship more and more difficult, also he was limited on time.

He had to be 100% certain he had won before allowing the timeline to continue, else as we saw at the end of the episode, it's all over.

 

[Turtletrekker]

What I found worst about the episode is that Mudd wants to profit by selling the spore drive to the Klingons, but he is wearing a time machine on his wrist!!! Wouldn't a time machine be worth about 10,000 times what a spore drive would be worth? And then at the end he just lets the time machine dissolve off his wrist??? That would be like throwing the world's biggest diamond into the ocean. And then the crew does not even ask him where he got it in the first place??? Come on. Science fiction asks us to suspend disbelief, which is why I don't ask about the existence of a time machine. But I science fiction should never ask us to suspend disbelief of people's behavior. People are people. This is what makes a show work.

After the writing debacle of the first two episodes, I said I'd give it one more chance. But after this writing debacle, I'm out. 50 years of Star Trek watching comes to an end.

After watching 50 years of Star Trek myself, all I can say is "buh-bye"!

 

[Noname Given]

What I found worst about the episode is that Mudd wants to profit by selling the spore drive to the Klingons, but he is wearing a time machine on his wrist!!! Wouldn't a time machine be worth about 10,000 times what a spore drive would be worth? And then at the end he just lets the time machine dissolve off his wrist??? That would be like throwing the world's biggest diamond into the ocean. And then the crew does not even ask him where he got it in the first place??? Come on. Science fiction asks us to suspend disbelief, which is why I don't ask about the existence of a time machine. But I science fiction should never ask us to suspend disbelief of people's behavior. People are people. This is what makes a show work.

After the writing debacle of the first two episodes, I said I'd give it one more chance. But after this writing debacle, I'm out. 50 years of Star Trek watching comes to an end.

Well, remember - this ISN'T the first time Mudd has used such a crystal (per ASk he robbed an utterly locked down Betazoid Bank using one); so he's using that tech for maximum personal gain/advantage.

 

[GeekUSACarl]

Well, remember - this ISN'T the first time Mudd has used such a crystal (per ASk he robbed an utterly locked down Betazoid Bank using one); so he's using that tech for maximum personal gain/advantage.

Yup, I doubt he has any interest in giving up his time machine, I mean, if I had one I wouldn't sell it for anything. But a spore drive for which I have no use? sure why not.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Stella has an equally "dirty" surname - Mudd and Grimes, sounds like a couple of hard-boiled police detectives.

 

[Kor]

So... what was up with Mudd's weird "Star-Lord" looking helmet?

Kor

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I loved the new Mudd and enjoyed the episode, but it was seriously hampered by their need to tie in to TOS. Multiple murders and he gets off with a verbal warning? And he still knows the secrets of Discovery and Staments? Yeah, right.

Mudd didn't murder anyone in the final timeloop. The only person who knows what he did in the previous iterations is Stamets.

Let it be a reboot so they can actually have plausible endings that fit their reimagined characters or don't turn a 50 year old comedy relief character into a mass murderer.

Huh? How do you leap from this episode to your reboot obsession?